Apple's New MacBook Pro: Five Great Features

Apple kicked off 2023 with a rare January product announcement series: new MacBook Pro computers (and a new Mac Mini and a new HomePod, but let’s save those for another day).

While the new 2023 MacBook Pro looks the same as the previous ones released in 2021 the big change is within the machine. Apple introduced their new M2 chip which offers more power and better battery life than the previous M1 chip. These are a few of the standout features of the new MacBook Pro, which might make you consider upgrading from your current laptop. Here are five really great features of the new MacBook Pro.

Drew’s Video Review Of The MacBook Pro

If you want to see the new MacBook Pro in action and get more details about the features of this powerful new machine, check out my video review below! For the top 5 features, read on!

MacBook Pro Design Features

If you like having lots of ports on your laptop, the new MacBook pro will delight! When the MacBook Pro lineup got a refresh in 2021 many features that had been previously removed from the MacBook Pros in recent years were brought back. Things like MagSafe power cords (they connect with a magnet so if you trip over the cord it unplugs instead of pulling down your laptop), integrated SD card readers, and a full row of function keys at the top of the keyboard came back and are part of the 2023 design as well. The new MacBook pros also have an HDMI port that supports up to 8K video resolution (a first on a Mac).

A Beautiful Screen

This is one of the features you don’t appreciate until you see it firsthand. The screen on the new MacBook pro is stunning! Both the 14 inch and 16 inch models have a one million to one contrast ratio (blacks are deeper, whites are brighter, colours are more vibrant). It also has ProMotion which is an Apple technology that boosts the refresh rate on your screen when there’s lots going on like playing a game or watching a movie. But lowers the refresh rate if you’re reading a document. This is one of many aspects of the MacBook Pro that improves the battery life so you can get up to 22 hours of use on the 16 inch model or 18 hours on the 14 inch model.

Amazing Sound

This is another feature that you truly have to experience firsthand. The sound coming out of the MacBook Pro speakers is incredible! There is a six-speaker system with four force-canelling woofers (that eliminates unwanted vibration) and two tweeters so the audio is so full without ever being muffled or distorted.

The New M2 Chip

All of the amazingly powerful tasks the new MacBook Pro can plough through with ease is thanks to their brand new M2 Chip. In the MacBook Pro you will have to decide between the M2 Pro and the M2 Max chips. If you have a very specific setup with more than three monitors and you need up to 96 GB of memory, then you’ll have to get the M2 Max. But for most people, I suspect the M2 Pro chip will be plenty. In my time testing the M2 Pro version, I had more than 20 browser tabs opening while listening to apple music and streaming video while I edited videos and had photoshop open with a large design file and the computer never slowed down and the fan never kicked in even once.

Video Calling

In low light and noisy environments, the camera and microphone system on the new MacBook Pro performs very well for video calling.Both the 14 and 16 inch versions have a 1080p FaceTime HD camera. There is a three microphone system that can tune in on your voice when you speak while tuning out background noise. This allows the people you’re speaking with on FaceTime or video conferencing programs to hear and see you more clealry.

Final Thoughts

My experience with the new M2-powered MacBook Pro has been great. This is a laptop that looks great, sounds great, and can perform just about any task you throw at it. When you sit behind the keyboard you feel like your’e only limited by your creativity, not the technology in front of you.